The National Key Laboratory of Advanced Separation Membrane Materials was approved by the National Science and Technology Department in January 2025. It is led by Tianjin University of Technology, jointly with Tianjin Memtech Membrane Technology Group Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang University of Technology. The laboratory is dedicated to innovative research on advanced separation membrane materials, focusing on the integration of basic theory, key technologies and engineering applications. It aims to break through core areas such as membrane material design theory and synthesis methods, advanced membrane material key preparation technologies, and advanced membrane manufacturing and equipment. The laboratory will build a full-chain innovation system from membrane design, membrane materials, membrane equipment to membrane application, and create a national strategic scientific and technological force to enhance China's independent innovation capabilities in the field of separation membranes.
The laboratory has a full-chain talent team in membrane design, membrane materials, membrane preparation, and membrane application. Currently, there are more than 200 fixed personnel, including engineering academicians, national outstanding professional and technical talents, national major talent projects, and national outstanding young fund recipients. There are 5 postdoctoral stations, 6 doctoral programs, and 13 master's programs. It has become an important gathering and training base for professional talents in the membrane field and an important support for the Double First-Class discipline construction of Tianjin University.
The laboratory attaches great importance to scientific innovation and industrialization promotion. It has nearly 200 million yuan of modern analytical testing instruments, which can achieve precise monitoring and analysis from the physical and chemical structure of membrane materials micro-environment to the structural evolution during membrane application. Previous research results have achieved series breakthroughs in membrane formation process control methods, membrane pore structure control theories, and membrane integration technologies. In 1974, China's first hollow fiber membrane module was created, and in 1993, polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber membranes were first domesticated in China, breaking the foreign monopoly. In 2007, the largest hollow fiber membrane base in Asia was built, and a school-run enterprise incubated in 2012 successfully listed on the Shenzhen Growth Enterprise Market - Jinmat Technology - was also the first listed company in the field of separation membranes. Since 2008, it has received 10 national science and technology awards; more than 200 membrane technology transformation achievements have been completed, with technical radiation to over 1,000 enterprises, a total water treatment capacity of 22 million tons per day, serving major projects such as South-to-North Water Diversion and the Olympic Games; it has led the establishment of the National Standardization Technical Committee for Separation Membranes, and has participated in or led the formulation of all national standards in the field of separation membranes (45 items), regulating the development of the membrane industry.
In the future, the laboratory will fully leverage the advantages of Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin Memtech Membrane Technology Group Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang University of Technology to create a world-class and widely influential research base for separation membrane technology, promote discipline development, and drive industry progress; facing national major needs, it will lead key technology breakthroughs with original theories and achieve large-scale production, engineering application, and domestic substitution of advanced membrane materials such as seawater desalination membranes, precision separation ultrafiltration membranes, and extreme working condition-resistant separation membranes, reaching international leading levels, and becoming the national strategic scientific and technological force for advanced separation membrane material innovation.
Address (ADD): No. 399, Binshui West Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin, Postcode: 300387
Telephone (TEL): 022-83955297
Email: membrane@tiangong.edu.cn
